The invention relates to an apparatus for laminating laminating stock. The laminating stock includes flat material with at least one, preferably transparent, laminating film that is coated on one side with an adhesive as it passes through a laminating unit. The laminating unit has at least one pair of rolls formed by two transport rolls that can be driven in pairs in opposite senses in the pass direction about mutually parallel, horizontally aligned axes of rotation. A deposition unit for the laminate is provided downstream of the laminating unit in the pass direction.
Laminating apparatuses of this kind are used to seal or seal in documents, menus, passes, vehicle documents and similar laminating stock and thereby to protect them from dirt, the ingress of water, forgery and destruction. The vast majority of the known laminating apparatuses have a laminating unit which can be supplied horizontally with laminating stock and laminating film. These units have a horizontal delivery surface on the exit side of the apparatus. The delivery surface leads to a deposition surface, which is arranged at a lower level. This deposition surface, for example, may be formed by the support for the laminating apparatus. These horizontally arranged laminating apparatuses are disadvantageous in that they have a large footprint and are therefore only of limited suitability for applications in fixed locations. For this reason, the devices are generally not set up in a fixed location but are assembled and disassembled as required. In addition, a further disadvantage is that the laminate is not adequately supported during the adhesive-curing phase. It therefore bends irreversibly under the action of gravity. When stacking in combination with a horizontal pass, there is often a build-up of laminate on the outlet side and this can only be avoided at the expense of considerable design complexity.
Taking this as a starting point, it is desirable to improve the known laminating apparatus of the type stated above in such a way that the laminate is aligned in one plane in the course of production and cooling and cannot bend irreversibly.
Curvature or bending of the laminate in the course of production may be avoided if the negative effects of gravity on bending are eliminated. According to the invention, curvature and bending may be avoided if the laminating process and at least part of the cooling of the laminate takes place in a vertical, downward pass direction. To achieve this, the invention proposes that the transport rolls of the at least one pair of rolls are arranged in pairs at the same height and delimit a nip which can be supplied in a vertically downward pass direction, and in that the deposition unit is arranged underneath the laminate outlet of the laminating unit.
It is expedient to arrange above the laminating unit a feed well, which points downwards in a funnel-like manner and can be integrated into the upper housing wall of the laminating device. At the same time, the laminating apparatus can be designed as a roller laminator in which the at least one pair of rolls contains a heating unit or is designed as such. It is advantageous if the heating unit has at least one heating element for heating up at least one of the transport rolls, it being possible for the heating element to be arranged within or outside the associated transport roll.
According to a preferred refinement of the invention, the laminating apparatus may be designed as a plate-type laminator, in which two pairs of rolls are provided and arranged vertically one underneath the other in the pass direction. The upper pair of rolls may be designed as a feed unit and the other, the lower pair, of rolls may be designed as a pressure application unit. A heating unit may be arranged in the region of the spacing between the two pairs of rolls. In this arrangement, the heating unit can have two plate-shaped heating elements, which delimit a vertical pass gap.
To align the laminate emerging from the laminating unit in a precisely vertical manner in the direction of the deposition unit, it may be advantageous additionally to provide, underneath the laminating unit in the pass direction, an alignment unit which delimits a vertical pass gap for the laminate. The alignment unit may have feed surfaces which open in a funnel-like manner into the pass gap. To accelerate the cooling process, the alignment unit can additionally be equipped with heat transfer surfaces, which are provided with cooling ribs and/or can be supplied with a coolant or refrigerant.
To allow adaptation to laminates of different thicknesses, it is advantageous if the width of the nip and/or of the pass gap between the plate-shaped heating elements and/or in the alignment unit is adjustable against the force of a spring. This adjustment may preferably occur automatically. To avoid curvature during lamination, the alignment unit can be adjusted horizontally as a whole.
In a further preferred refinement of the invention, the deposition unit has a flat supporting surface for receiving a broad side of the laminate. The supporting surface may be aligned obliquely at an acute angle to the vertical pass direction and may merge at its lower end into a standing surface for the lower edge of the laminate. The standing surface may project essentially perpendicularly beyond the supporting surface. It is expedient if the deposition unit is arranged to intersect the vertical exit plane formed by the laminate emerging from the laminating unit. A line of contact for the lower edge of the laminate is preferably arranged above the standing surface. This ensures that, from the laminate exit and the alignment unit, the laminate initially moves downwards freely under the action of gravity without touching the supporting surface and is substantially cooled along this path. Only when the lower edge of the laminate strikes the supporting surface in the region of the line of contact is the laminate deflected from its vertical direction of fall and tipped in a defined manner in the direction of the supporting surface. If the tipping angle is small enough, no permanent bending occurs. For this reason, it is expedient if, starting from the line of contact, the supporting surface and the exit plane enclose an angle of 5xc2x0 to 45xc2x0, more preferably 8xc2x0 to 15xc2x0. To prevent the lower edge of the laminate from sliding outwardly off the standing surface, it is preferred if the standing surface is bent upwards at its outer edge, the edge opposite the supporting surface. To allow stacking, the flat supporting surface is furthermore arranged with its upper edge, that opposite the standing surface, at a lateral distance from the laminate outlet of the laminating unit.
To enable the laminating apparatus according to the invention to be accommodated in a fixed location while taking up as little space as possible, it is expedient to provide a housing which can be fixed on a vertical wall surface and/or, on the narrow side, has a standing surface to allow it to be placed on a horizontal support. The housing preferably has an abutment surface for at least one plug-in, screw-type or clamping element that can be fixed on the support.
The laminating apparatus according to the invention is suitable for the automatic supply of the raw laminate comprising the laminating stock and the laminating film without taking up a relatively large amount of space. For this purpose, a feed device is arranged at the top of the laminating unit and intended to supply the raw laminate, preferably in an automatic manner and preferably in a vertical direction,.
The laminating apparatus according to the invention can be used to particular advantage for sealing in laminating stock consisting of flat material between two laminating films. The laminating films may be connected to one another at one edge to form a pouch and coated with the adhesive on at least one of their mutually facing broad sides.
In the case of a hot laminator, a hot-melt adhesive may be used as the adhesive. Cold lamination can also be performed with advantage using the measures according to the invention, use being made of a laminating film which is coated on one broad side with a pressure-sensitive adhesive. If the laminating films are somewhat larger than the laminating stock, it is sufficient if only one of the two pouch-forming laminating films is coated with adhesive. In this case, the laminating films are additionally bonded all the way around their periphery, which projects beyond the laminating stock. The laminating stock is, thus, sealed in also on the non-adhesive side of the laminate.
The apparatus for laminating a laminating stock includes a laminating unit and a deposition unit. The laminating unit has at least one pair of rolls driven in pairs in opposite senses for passing laminating stock therebetween to form a laminated material. At least one of the pair of rolls delimits a nip. The deposition unit is positioned substantially below and downstream of the laminating unit for depositing the laminated material. The pair of rolls is configured and dimensioned such that the laminating stock passes through the rolls in a vertical pass direction and the laminating stock enters the deposition unit in a vertical pass direction.
The laminating stock may include a flat material to be laminated and at least one laminating film. The laminating film may be transparent and coated on one side with an adhesive. The pair of rolls may include two transport rolls that are positioned on mutually parallel, horizontally aligned axes of rotation. The rolls are positioned at the same height.
A heating unit may also be included. The pair of rolls may be associated with the heating unit. The heating unit may include two plate-shaped heating elements that delimit a heating unit vertical pass gap through which the laminating stock travels.
The at least one pair of rolls may include an upper pair of rolls and a lower pair of rolls. The lower pair of rolls is positioned below the upper pair of rolls in the vertical pass direction and the upper pair of rolls operates as a feed unit while the lower pair of rolls operates as a pressure unit. The upper and lower pair of rolls are arranged to provide a region of spacing between them and the heating unit may be positioned in the region of spacing.
An alignment unit may be provided which delimits an alignment unit vertical pass gap for the laminated material to pass therethrough. The alignment unit is positioned substantially beneath the laminating unit in the vertical pass direction. The alignment unit may include at least one funnel-like feed surface that opens into the alignment unit vertical pass gap. The alignment unit may also include a heat transfer surface supplied with a 35 coolant or refrigerant. The heat transfer surface may be a rib.
The deposition unit may have a flat supporting surface for receiving the laminated material. The supporting surface may be aligned obliquely at an acute angle to the vertical pass direction, merging at its lower end into an essentially perpendicularly projecting standing surface for receiving a lower edge of the laminated material.
In another embodiment of the invention, the apparatus for laminating a laminating stock may include a laminating unit and a deposition unit. The laminating unit has at least one pair of rolls driving in pairs in opposite senses for passing laminating stock therebetween in the vertical pass direction to form a laminated material. The deposition unit is positioned substantially below the laminating unit for depositing the laminated material and includes a supporting surface for receiving the laminated material. The supporting surface may be slanted at an acute angle relative to the vertical pass direction. The at least one pair of rolls is configured and dimensioned such that the laminating stock passes through the rolls in a vertical pass direction and the laminated stock enters the deposition unit in a vertical pass direction.
The supporting surface of the deposition unit is substantially flat and includes a standing surface positioned to project substantially perpendicularly at the lower end of the supporting surface. The standing surface receives the lower edge of the laminated material and the supporting surface receives a broad side of the laminated material. The laminated material exits the laminating unit in a vertical exit plane and the supporting surface of the deposition unit intersects the vertical exit plane of the laminated material on a line of contact positioned above the standing surface. The supporting surface of the deposition unit is positioned at an angle of about 5xc2x0 and 45xc2x0 relative to the vertical exit plane of the laminated material. The angle of the supporting surface of the deposition unit relative to the vertical exit plane of the laminated material ranges from about 8xc2x0 to 15xc2x0. The standing surface includes a portion that is bent upwardly at its outer edge and the upper end of the supporting surface may be spaced relative to an outlet of the laminating unit.